Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev hopes for a quick and positive decision on the delivery of German Taurus cruise missiles for his country. "I am glad to see that support for this is increasing. I would like the discussion not to last as long as the whole Leopard discussion," he said Friday in Dresden after a meeting with Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU). Because every day soldiers would lay down their lives.
Kretschmer had spoken out clearly against the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles and coined the phrase. "Do we really want to accept that German missiles could strike Russia?". He was criticized for this even within his own ranks. It was important to talk with great openness in a democratic country, even about different expectations and attitudes, he stressed on Friday, assuring Makeiev: "We are at your side." He said it was not a matter of right or wrong, but of a common path.
Ukraine has long been demanding that the German government supply German Taurus cruise missiles for defense against Russia. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) expressed restraint in this regard on Sunday. In the ZDF "summer interview," he said that just as in the past, the German government would always review each individual decision very carefully - what goes, what makes sense, what the German contribution could be. There are fears that the projectiles could also reach Russian territory.
He does not want arms deliveries to trigger disputes between parties and voters in Germany, Makeiev told Deutsche Presse-Agentur afterwards. "Rather, weapons are needed to be able to defend ourselves in this war and to win this war." He said it was in the interest of Germany and every citizen that this war be won by Ukraine so that "all of Europe sleeps peacefully." That's what Ukrainians would want to convey to other Europeans, he said. If Ukraine wins the war, he said, all of Europe will be able to feel safer.
Makeiev explained that he did not have the impression that Germans were "tired of war" and that solidarity was waning. When he came to Germany in October 2022, he said, he was warned that aid could dwindle. But many people here show solidarity out of inner conviction, he said. "There are also many politicians who have fears, have doubts." He said it was necessary to address issues such as the arms shipments and explain why Ukraine needed them. "I'm not guided by my own ideas, but by what the soldiers on the front lines need."
Kretschmer had handed over a donation to Makeiev that morning at the German Red Cross compound - a city bus for the city of Mykolayiv, which has been badly affected by the Russian war of aggression. The bus is filled with canned food and was procured by the association "Hope for Ukraine". The costs were covered by the state of Saxony.
Saxony's head of government called the war against Ukraine a "terrible crime." "The solidarity here in Saxony, in Germany for the people of Ukraine, for this country, for this struggle for freedom is unbroken," Kretschmer said.
Makeiev said, "Every help counts, every support for Ukraine counts. A bus, a tank, an anti-aircraft system. All Ukrainians are involved in the fight for freedom. There is no family in Ukraine that is not affected by this war." He said he is very grateful for the solidarity of the Germans. Germany, he said, has become the second largest supporter of Ukraine - with financial resources, with humanitarian aid, with weapons. He very much hoped that this solidarity would not diminish.
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